10 Working From Home Products That Will Still Be Useful Later

Here’s our guide to working from home more in comfort, without buying a load of stuff you won’t need in future.

If you’re working from home, you may have noticed that this presents some challenges. Not just the obvious one of trying to juggle kids, cats and and video conferencing. It’s the small details that make you miss the comfort of the office. The coffee machine. The workspace that isn’t sandwiched between the spare bed and the laundry rack. The heating! Us cyclists are notorious for keeping the heating down low, so what do you do now you’re in all day?

We’ve brought together a collection of mail order items that we think might make the immediate future a little more comfortable, while still being useful when this is all over and we can ride our bikes freely again. If you’ve found something that is making your life easier right now, put a link in the comments. Clicking the links below, or those in the comments, may earn us a small commission, while costing you nothing.

1. Cheap Desk

You need a desk if you’re working from home. If you don’t invest in one now, you’re going to be paying for it in physio fees later. A cheap one like this can be repurposed afterwards as a handy garage worktop later, and for the price you needn’t feel too bad about getting it covered in grease or grime later.

2. Standing Desk

OK, so this costs a heap more money than the one above, but it’s probably equivalent to ten sessions with a physio, or a few weeks of personal training. With a standing desk you might avoid the need for both – and being height adjustable we think it might also work rather well as somewhere to put a screen while you’re on the turbo trainer.

3. Camping Duvet

Here is the first piece of weaponary in the battle to keep the heating off while you’re working from home. Snuggle up under it now, and when you’re finally free to go and sleep under the stars you’ll have a nice bit of extra kit to add comfort to your adventures. It’s one of those bits of kit you can look at thinking ‘that’s nice, but not necessary’ – since you won’t be going out to spend money for a while, maybe you can justify the luxury?

4. Merino Tops

Layering is the answer to keeping warm, and since you’re probably not changing your clothes quite as often as usual, maybe some merino would be a good investment. Especially if you’re confined to barracks with someone you’d like to get along with by the end of this. Thumbholes will help keep your fingers warm as you type now – and as you pause for a cafe stop on a crisp autumnal ride in the future. Don’t be tempted to use it as a snot wipe! And no rider should be without a good merino baselayer – if you’ve not yet experienced this luxury, maybe now is the time to treat yourself.

5. Merino Pants

If you’re going to spend all day in your pants, they may as well be nice ones

We have a suspicion that some of you may have abandoned the wearing of trousers in the era of working from home. Merino boxers can be a great option for riding, and they’ll work very well for surfing the couch. Sit comfortably in just these, or layer them up with trousers if you’re keeping the heating off.

6. Wrist Warmers

Another little extra that will make staying in and working from home that bit more comfortable. Maybe you’ve found other ways to keep your wrists warm, but if not, wrist warmers are great for keeping your fingers warm while typing. They’re also brilliant for getting set up in the car park or fettling in the garage, or any of those tasks where wearing gloves just gets in the way.

7. Smart Lined Shirt

Perhaps you’re doing a fair amount of videoconferencing and need to look smart? How about a nice lined shirt to keep you snug while you practice your ‘yes I’m listening and interested face’. Later in the year, you’ll be able to ride in these to the pub, wear them while you practice your jumps and tricks, or help out on your local trail maintenance day.

8. Slippers

You need slippers. Slippers will make your new #IndoorLife happier. They don’t need to be tartan or uncool. These down slippers will keep your heating bills down now, and keep your stoke up later. Imagine the luxury at the end of a race practice day being able to pull on a pair of these as you snuggle down and camp for the night. That comfort and relaxation could make all the difference to your race time next day!

9. Hammock

Set this up in the attic room, or in a quiet corner in the garden. You are important, and you have important blue sky thinking to do. What better place to do it than a relaxing hammock, staring up at the sky? If you don’t have any work to do, you can practice getting in and out of it with style, so that you look that bit cooler when you take it on a back woods adventure with your mates.

10. Coffee

This is probably the thing that the Singletrack team is struggling most with. We can see each other on video chat, but we can’t get to the office coffee machine. Productivity is an issue. If you thought you couldn’t justify the countertop space for a gadget you only use at weekends, think again. OK, on the other side of this you might go back to weekend use only, but we think the situation is pretty serious already, without a lack of coffee.

Comments (10)

“If you’re going to spend all day in your pants, they may as well be nice ones” slightly confused and worried by this one . But my new Bell arrived today, so perfect for my next ‘socially distanced’ pedal, thanks !

@binman Fair point: all day in ‘just’ your pants 🙂 My house it too cold for just pants, which is probably just as well as I realised my knicker drawer is like some kind of archaeological dig. TMI? Sorry…

@ Old and past it Complete aside, but I used to work with a blind chap who’d take his guide dog into meetings. I don’t know if he kicked it under the table or had some sort of code, but it had the habit of yawning extravagantly from under the table whenever the boss said something stupid.